Let that sink in.

The Nigerian government decided that the minimum a worker deserves to survive is ₦70,000 a month. Seventy thousand naira. In 2024 prices. In a country where a bag of rice costs close to ₦80,000.

But if you fail to file your tax returns? That's a ₦100,000 penalty.

The fine for not paying into a system is worth more than what the system says your entire month of labour is worth. Wrap your head around that.

This isn't a typo. This isn't an error. This is Nigerian economic policy — designed, approved, and signed into law by people who have not seen a salary slip in decades.

The government that cannot guarantee light, cannot fix roads, cannot staff its hospitals, and cannot protect its citizens from bandits and kidnappers — that same government wants ₦100,000 from you for missing a tax deadline. Before you've even calculated what you owe.

So let's be clear about what is being communicated here: your labour is worth ₦70,000. Your compliance is worth more.

You, the worker, are less valuable than your paperwork.

And the worst part? Most Nigerians paying that fine — if they even earn enough to be taxed — will have to sacrifice nearly two months of minimum wage to cover a penalty for not reporting income they barely have.

This is not a mistake in the system. This is the system working exactly as designed — to extract maximum compliance from people with minimum power, while the ones setting these figures collect allowances that would make your tax fine look like pocket change.

Tell us what you think. Is this extortion dressed up as fiscal policy, or are we missing something?

Drop your thoughts in the comments. Share this if it made your blood pressure move.